June 10 (UPI) — TC Energy, developer of the Keystone XL pipeline, announced Wednesday that it has terminated the project.
The Canadian company issued a statement saying it came to the decision following a comprehensive review of its options and a consultation with the government of the province of Alberta after suspending construction in January as President Joe Biden revoked a permit for the pipeline on his first day in office.
The pipeline was meant to deliver some 830,000 barrels of crude tar sand oil a day from the Canadian city of Hardisty, Alberta, to Steel City, Neb., but was stalled for several years during the Obama administration amid opposition from Indigenous groups and environmental activists.
As part of a series of executive orders signed following his inauguration on Jan. 20, Biden revoked the permit former President Donald Trump granted for the Keystone XL pipeline.
In his confirmation hearing, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg defended Biden’s decision to revoke the pipeline’s permit despite criticism that it would cost thousands of union jobs.
“We can [create jobs] while recognizing the fact that when the books are written about our careers, one of the main things we will be judged on is whether we did enough to stop the destruction of life and property due to climate change. If you can I can make common cause in our support of labor then I think that’s great,” he said.
David Turnbull, strategic communications director at Oil Change International, said in a statement that the decision Wednesday highlights the need for the government to block the construction of other pipeline projects.
“TC Energy’s announcement only increases the urgency for President Joe Biden to act immediately to stop the Line 3 and Dakota Access oil pipelines,” said Turnbull. “These projects are dangerous and unnecessary for all the same reasons the Keystone XL was and they must be halted for Biden and climate advisor Gina McCarthy to kep their commitments on climate change and indigenous rights.”
